Internationally-Trained Nurses in NY: The CGFNS is not mandatory

If you are an internationally-educated nurse seeking licensure in the state of New York, you can and probably should avoid the CGFNS and their Credential Verification Service.

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Internationally-Trained Nurses in NY: The CGFNS is not mandatory

For a foreign educated nurse, going through the CGFNS's Credential Evaluation, Certification Program or Credential Verification services, can be quite a hassle. It is indeed often the most dreaded step of the process when it comes to getting licensed in the US. Here is the good news though: the CGFNS is not always mandatory to get your license in the USA*. Some states accept other organizations, like the ERES, which are much faster and easier to work with. Some Boards of Nursing do not even require for you to go through any other organization than them for your credential evaluation. That is, for instance, the case with the New York State Board of Nursing. And I already hear you asking "What!? I don't need the CGFNS for New York?". The answer is NO! You don't! Great news, right? Now let's talk about it more thoroughly.

First of all, on their website, the New York State Board of Nursing currently recommends that applicants go through the CGFNS--the reason being that, in their opinion, it makes it easier for the applicant. Unfortunately, this is rarely true.

Admittedly, until just a few months ago the CGFNS would simply contact nursing schools and licensing authorities themselves and you basically only had to wait. However, in most cases, the CGFNS would end up asking for additional information which would lengthen the process. Sometimes the CGFNS's correspondences would even get lost, which as you can guess, would make the whole process even more of a struggle. One other benefit was that the CGFNS would not require translations for the transcripts and other documents but that's no longer the case.

For a few months now, the CVS process has changed and the CGFNS now requires the same documents as the ones for the CES and CP. Therefore, the applicants have to contact their school and licensing authority themselves and take care of the translations as well. And just like before, if after 6 months the CGFNS has not received all of the required documents, they will send your file to the board anyway even if it is incomplete. The board will then ask you to have your school and licensing authority send them everything they need, plus the translations, which is exactly where you started. You will have lost time and money...

So why would you go through the CGFNS when you can go directly through the Board of NY for your credential evaluation? Well, other than for immigration purposes*, there is simply no reason for that! Indeed, when you go directly through the Board of Nursing to get your equivalence in New-York State, you will find the process a lot easier. First, you will have to get the forms on their website. Then you will send one (the 2F) to your foreign nursing school and one (the 3F) to your licensing authority. They both have to send them directly to the board completely filled out along with the appropriate documents requested (with English translations for everything written in a foreign language). This process can take less than 4 months (I just had this situation with a client). As you can see, it is much faster than the CGFNS and also a lot less stress.

It is true that if you are planning on coming to the USA through a sponsored work visa, you will have to go through the CGFNS for your Visascreen anyway, as they are the only one offering that service. But even in that case, some people would rather get their US license without dealing with the CGFNS and simply go through them afterward for their Visascreen. After having dealt with both situations through my clients, I would recommend to any Internationally-Educated nurses seeking to work in New York State to go directly through the Board of Nursing for their credential evaluation. And if on top of that they are already allowed to work in the US, then I would suggest they forget about the CGFNS completely.

Good luck to all, and I hope this article will help you through your process!

Claire Speaks.

*This information only concerns the process of getting your nursing license in the USA. For immigration procedures, you will have to go through the CGFNS's Visascreen service if you wish to obtain a work visa through a sponsor.

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Claire Speaks

About Claire Speaks

French Nurse since 2009. American RN since 2018. Consultant for internationally trained nurses seeking to get their license in the US since 2017.

2 Articles   19 Posts

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Specializes in Retired.

"What!? I don't need the CGFNS for New York?". The answer is NO! You don't! Great news, right?

Actually, the answer is yes:) Yes, you don't need the CGFNS. But useful information in your article.

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Specializes in Medical/Mental health.

CGFNS made life difficult for international Nurses lIt took them one good year before releasing result of evaluation. Upon releasing ,requesting for maternal/infant nursing to be done by BON.

Any help where they are offering the courses? I need help

Thanks

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Specializes in Peds.

For the documents do you send them yourslef as copies or ?

Also the GFNS screen is my only way of writing the nclex american exam since i wrote the Canadian crne before 2015

I'm looking to licensnce in California

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
2 hours ago, ssrah said:

For the documents do you send them yourslef as copies or ?

Also the GFNS screen is my only way of writing the nclex american exam since i wrote the Canadian crne before 2015

I'm looking to licensnce in California

Documents have to go direct from schools universities etc,

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Hello. 
I did the same and got my Att for NCLEX which I just wrote and passed. Now I'm confused as I've been reading I'll need to go through cgfns for visa screen as well, will I need to do all the processing from scratch(submitting all my credentials for evaluation) like I did for NY BON? Or is there an exception since all my credentials have already been verified by New York Board of Nursing. 

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Specializes in RN, internationally-trained Nurses consultant.

Hi!
Since Summer 2021 the CGFNS is not the only agency approved by immigration services to deliver a health care worker certification (what the CGFNS calls Visascreen). This other agency (Josef Silny & Associates) is much easier to work with and their processing times are way faster than the CGFNS! Their service is called the Visa4Nurses. 
But to answer your question, yes you, your school and your licensing authority will have to provide additional information to either the CGFNS or Josef Silny & Associates in order for you to get a health care worker certification for immigration purposes ? You can do this!!

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Specializes in ICU,Chemotherapy.

Any one dealing with NY department of education ?

A Lebanese graduate with BSN trying to get NY RN . Put an application and college transferred all my transcripts ,diploma..etc to NY . Confirmed that been received by COMPED .been 2 months and now I asked for an update they said they waiting for more info from government agency in Lebanon . Did not tell me what info and what agency . I did not declare that I was an RN in Lebanon so they did not request the form anyway . Lebanon has slowest government in the world so I am about to give up on this honestly .. any advice or any one has similar experience ??

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